The Ukrainian armed forces appear to have used their BM-27 Uragan (Hurricane) multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) to deny Russia the use of the same by destroying Russia’s stockpile of BM-27 rockets.
“Somewhere in the Donbas, with the help of the BPAC, our defenders accurately aimed at the ammunition depot with the ‘Hurricane’ and found it! Glory to Ukraine!” the Operational Command North of the Ukrainian Ground Forces said on June 30.
Reports say that the Russian stockpile of weapons was strategically placed away from the frontlines of the battlefield. Still, the Ukrainian forces managed to track it using top-of-the-range drone systems and then strike it with accuracy and precision.
Interestingly, the destroyed site is said to be Russia’s stockpile of BM-27 rockets.
The BM-27 Uragan MLRS
The BM-27 Uragan is a Soviet-era 220mm heavy rocket artillery system used by Russia and Ukraine. It was developed in the early 1970s and entered service with the Soviet Army in 1975.
The launch vehicle of the Uragan MLRS, called the 9P140, is based on a ZiL-135LMP 8×8 heavy high mobility vehicle, powered by two ZiL-375 petrol engines that generate 180 hp each. It consists of 16 launching tubes for 220 mm rockets that can be fired individually or in salvoes.
A standard BM-27 rocket is 4.8 meters long and weighs 280 kilograms, with the warheads weighing between 90 and 100 kilograms, depending on the type.
The system can fire training, High Explosive Fragmentation (HE-FRAG), chemical, incendiary, fuel-air explosive, cluster rockets with scatterable mines (PTM-3 or PFM-1), all of which can be detonated by electric timing fuses.
A full salvo of 16 rockets can be fired in 20 seconds and cover an area of around 4.3 hectares to engage multiple targets up to a range of 34 kilometers.
The launch vehicle is supported by a 9T452 reloading vehicle based on the ZiL-135LMP 8×8 chassis and is operated by a two-person crew.
It is fitted with a crane and carries a complete set of 16 reload rockets. The launcher pack can be replenished within 15-20 minutes, usually remotely from the firing position to avoid counter-battery fire.
This system can be airlifted by Il-76, An-22, or An-124 military transport aircraft.
Until the late 1980s, the Uragan was the largest and most powerful system of its type in service. The MLRS system saw action during the Soviet war in Afghanistan, the Russian wars in Chechnya, and the Russia-Georgia war.
Obliteration Of Russian Ammo Depot
The video footage released by the Ukrainian forces depicts the aftermath of the latest strike on the alleged stockpile of Russian BM-27 rockets. A thick cloud of smoke can be seen blowing up the sky in the footage.
The smoke is so thick that the flames of the fire contained in the area where the weapons stockpile was hit cannot be seen on the drone footage.
The casualties on the Russian side remain unknown when writing this report. Still, no Russian service member can be seen running from the scene in the available video footage.
The video has been doing the rounds on social media, drawing various reactions from netizens.
A Twitter handles going by the name of @DanielFrishber1 said, “Whatever that was, it is long gone, and anyone who was near it is too.”
While another one with the name @RadicalWoman111 said, “I love how Ukrainian UAVs are always flying above obliterated Russian warcraft like a righteous Valkyrie. No Valhalla for orcs.”
I love how Ukrainian UAVs are always flying above obliterated Russian warcraft like a righteous Valkyrie.
No Valhalla for orcs. pic.twitter.com/5IHZnHSxIl
— Ruthless (@RadicalWoman111) June 30, 2022
Meanwhile, the Russian military also continues intense artillery fire against the Ukrainian forces. After the Ukrainian troops withdrew from Severodonetsk, Russian forces appear to be focusing on Lysychansk, with reports of offensive operations in settlements south and southwest of the city to encircle it, thereby cutting the Ukrainian logistics routes.
As part of this, the Russian forces maintained artillery fire and conducted airstrikes along the T1302 Bakhmut-Lysychansk highway but have not managed to sever the road as of July 1.
Apart from that, there have also been reports of the Russian military conducting artillery strikes over various areas of Kherson, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhia, and Dnipropetrovsk Oblasts, while also maintaining systemic artillery firing over Kharkiv City.
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